The “Tradition of Openness”: Identity and Linguistic Situation of the Frisians of the North Cover Image

„A nyitottság tradíciója.” Az északi frízek identitása és nyelvi helyzete. Interjú Thomas Steensen történészprofesszorral
The “Tradition of Openness”: Identity and Linguistic Situation of the Frisians of the North

Author(s): Thomas Steensen, Tamás Győri
Subject(s): Cultural history, Ethnohistory
Published by: Korunk Baráti Társaság

Summary/Abstract: The Frisians are among the earliest Germanic tribes mentioned in historical sources, having been present in the Wadden Sea region for more than two thousand years. According to estimates by Swedish linguist Nils Århammarein, there are still a few thousand speakers of the northern Frisian dialects in the Schleswig-Holstein region, mostly elderly people. The North Frisians have always lived in a border region where German and Danish power aspirations met, and the maintenance of their separate identity was neither tolerated nor supported by either state. We spoke to Professor Thomas Steensen, historian, about the history of the Frisians and their current situation.

  • Issue Year: 2023
  • Issue No: 03
  • Page Range: 78-84
  • Page Count: 7
  • Language: Hungarian